Firefighters at the 2004 Stockline blast have been honoured

Three members of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue attended an event to honour people involved in emergencies.

Watch manager Colin MacPhee and firefighter Maxine McQueer were two of the first on the scene. Karen Wilson took the "major incident" call.

Nine people died in the blast in the city's Maryhill area in May 2004.

Mr MacPhee, who was honoured at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, described the scene confronting the first firefighters.

"Initially when we arrived we had a girl stranded on the remnants of a staircase, so crews were spilt up," he said.

Trapped workers

"Some of the crew dealt with her and I dealt with a man who was buried under the rubble with machinery on top of him.

"I realised how big it was when I was requesting for help and no-one arrived. We were very much on our own."

Ms McQueer said she had not realised the extent of the incident until she approached an ambulance to get help for a trapped man.

"I turned the corner and that's when I saw the whole building had collapsed," she said.